Cell cams

[akachuck]

I'm gonna get a little more into cameras, I have one for my "farm" but have no idea what brand or model it is, it's not a cell cam I know that. But For Christmas I'm going to ask more for hunting stuff lol. So that being said what is a good cell cam that y'all recommend that ain't so complicated to set up and obviously not to expensive. Thanks!

 

[huntintn]

Get to electronically invested you'll miss alot of the reason you hunt. One on one against the animal. Next thing you know you won't be able to blood trail one 20 yards.

 

[rem270]

I have Spypoint and Tactacam and would buy the Tactacam 10x over the Spypoint.

 

[ImThere]

How much are they a month per trail cam?

 

[JArender]

Get to electronically invested you'll miss alot of the reason you hunt. One on one against the animal. Next thing you know you won't be able to blood trail one 20 yards.

i've been using trail cams since the film days. and cell cams since 3g models.
and you are 100% right. I have found myself glued to the camera results and getting disappointed rather than actually HUNTING to the point of saying ahhh it's just not worth going today! But I also love getting photos and finding out what my resident doe population seems to be. So they can be a valuable tool. They do take away from the "Thrill of the Hunt" imo though no doubt!

I have Spypoint and Tactacam and would buy the Tactacam 10x over the Spypoint.

tactacam has best that i've tried as well I recommend to anyone who ask me in person.

 

[Spurhunter]

I have found myself glued to the camera results and getting disappointed rather than actually HUNTING to the point of saying ahhh it's just not worth going today!

For some reason a lot of my hunting friends are not getting any shooter pics yet this year and they are understandably discouraged. You are right. It can take away some of the excitement.

 

[Spurhunter]

I have a Moultrie VX7000i that is great.
I have 3 Spypoints that are ok.
My son has a Moultrie XV-6000 that is really good.
My son has 3 of the new Moultrie Deltas and they suck.

 

[JArender]

For some reason a lot of my hunting friends are not getting any shooter pics yet this year and they are understandably discouraged. You are right. It can take away some of the excitement.

they probably have shooters skirting their cameras haha. this was done 10' behind the tree one of my cameras one night last week and later in a photo you can see what appears to be a shooter just beyond the flash range to really tell.

 

[Spurhunter]

they probably have shooters skirting their cameras haha. this was done 10' behind the tree one of my cameras one night last week and later in a photo you can see what appears to be a shooter just beyond the flash range to really tell.

I keep saying, "just because he ain't getting photographed, doesn't mean he isn't there."

 

[Bgoodman30]

they probably have shooters skirting their cameras haha. this was done 10' behind the tree one of my cameras one night last week and later in a photo you can see what appears to be a shooter just beyond the flash range to really tell.

I am hearing this from everyone everywhere even some hunting podcasts I listen too.

Slide me into that category of being a little discouraged... My cell cameras batteries died and I haven't even worried about it.. Victory will be even sweeter though if one surprises me...

 

[TNGunsmoke]

I run cameras just because I like to look at pictures of deer. I might have some good ones on camera, I might not. But I love seeing deer pictures in the places I hunt. I have had good ones that only showed at night, some I never saw in daylight that a neighbor killed. And some I never had a picture of that I've killed during the rut. It's just another way to have fun, and I run them year round because I enjoy it.

 

[Bone Collector]

Interesting thread. I had not heard much about the tactacams. Seem reasonably priced. I looked a little deeper and it appears to be a good deal. I have 7 Link Micros by SpyPoint. They are much cheaper than the tactacam when on sale. I have bought most of mine at the $89.99-$99.99 price point. The Normal price is $119.99. The tactacam is $139.99, but I am sure it goes on sale if you are patient and look around. The data plans are pretty comparable.
Tactacam gives 250 pics for $5, 500 for $8, and unlimited for $13 per month. You can pay annually too.
SpyPoint gives 205 for $5, 1000, for $10 and unlimited for $15 per month. You can pay annually too.

The SpyPoint cameras can have issues (and I have had issues with 2-3 of mine), BUT I have called them every time I've had an issue and they have given me a brand new camera, if they cannot fix it over the phone (Cell Cams have software and technical updates, that sometimes resolve issues). So they are cheap, but the do stand behind their product so far. Hopefully that doesn't change.

IMO tactacam saw what SpyPoint did and mimicked them, but maybe put more money into the camera on the front end to hopefully alleviate issues. Apparently they have done so, according to testimony here, but I guess you have to ask at your age "what can I afford and what do I want to possibly deal with." Good Luck. I think you'll be fine either way.

 

[Bone Collector]

I have found myself glued to the camera results and getting disappointed rather than actually HUNTING to the point of saying ahhh it's just not worth going today!

Yes this happened last year, but my brother said, "you always have big bucks show up in November" and then they did. It has made me do that in the Velvet hunt, but I don't know that, that is totally a bad thing. I stay out of my land as much as possible during bow and start hunting it in November.

But I also love getting photos and finding out what my resident doe population seems to be. So they can be a valuable tool.

This to me is invaluable, because if you have enough cameras and can distinguish differences between the does, you can get an pretty accurate count of what you have. This is valuable in deciding if you should take does or not that season.

They do take away from the "Thrill of the Hunt" imo though no doubt!

Not in my opinion. I always got pics of deer before cell cams and bucks especially do skirt cameras, so you can still get a surprise. That being said, the fact that I hardly have to go into the woods to do anything to the camera is what makes them so valuable.
They can thrill you and kill you IMO. I got a pic last year of my target buck in front of a stand that was my other option that morning. I was excited because it wasn't far from where I was, but not at all happy when he went the other way. That camera let me know that I had picked the wrong stand. That has happened with the non cell cams as well, but I usually don't know right then and there, it takes a few days or a week to get the card, to figure it out. Still stings either way.

 

[philsanchez76]

I have a Moultrie VX7000i that is great.
I have 3 Spypoints that are ok.
My son has a Moultrie XV-6000 that is really good.
My son has 3 of the new Moultrie Deltas and they suck.

X2 on this.
SPYPOINT pic quality ain't great but I'm usually just using it to see what kind of deer traffic is running through on area. Most of mine are on trails. As long as a buck ain't moving to fast I can still make out the amount of antler points etc. what I really like is SPYPOINT gives you 100 free pics per month. No other cell cam does this to my knowledge.
And yes the moultrie delta is the most pitiful cell cam I've ever come across. Terrible detection range (20-30 ft tops) and basically always black night pics.

 

[rbreedi1]

Go with Tactacam Reveal.. I run several and have no problems. $119 for the camera and plans start at $5/month

 

[TreyB]

Hands down Tactacam Reveal X. $119 $13 per month unlimited.

 

[catman529]

I bought two Stealthcams this year, got one in my backyard and another one tucked away on some public land. $119 for the camera and $20/month plan for unlimited pics. So far I like them a lot. Probably the only two I will own, that monthly bill can add up quick and I only run a small handful of cameras across multiple counties. I like getting pics on my phone without having to go pull a card. No they have not helped me kill a deer yet, they've only reminded me how unpredictable some of these deer can be.

 

[Hduke86]

I had a couple of spypoint cams and a couple tactacam. The spypoints stopped working and I finally gave up on them. The tactacams have been pretty solid for the most part. This year I started to use Cuddeback CuddeLink system and I love it. One cam is the "cell cam" and the others are "remote" cams. I have 8 total so far on one place. I like it cause I can set the "cell" cam in a location that I know I have good service and then the other 7 "remote" cams relay off each other like piggyback. All send from the cell to my phone for one monthly plan which is reasonable and it's a awesome way of locating and covering a big place to know which way to deer move and when cause I can have a buck show up at one location say at 2:00 and then at 5:30 I may see him on the other side of the property heading into a bedding area so I can figure out his route. I think one "cell" cam can support up to something like 18 "remote" cams.

 

[rem270]

I had a couple of spypoint cams and a couple tactacam. The spypoints stopped working and I finally gave up on them. The tactacams have been pretty solid for the most part. This year I started to use Cuddeback CuddeLink system and I love it. One cam is the "cell cam" and the others are "remote" cams. I have 8 total so far on one place. I like it cause I can set the "cell" cam in a location that I know I have good service and then the other 7 "remote" cams relay off each other like piggyback. All send from the cell to my phone for one monthly plan which is reasonable and it's a awesome way of locating and covering a big place to know which way to deer move and when cause I can have a buck show up at one location say at 2:00 and then at 5:30 I may see him on the other side of the property heading into a bedding area so I can figure out his route. I think one "cell" cam can support up to something like 18 "remote" cams.

Keep the batteries charged in those and know their pattern that way me and @gasman will have a good shot at a East TN buck this winter.

 

[Hduke86]

Keep the batteries charged in those and know their pattern that way me and @gasman will have a good shot at a East TN buck this winter.

Lol y'all flatlanders are more then welcome to come chase these mountain top and mountain side deer with me anytime. It's the biggest pain to get one out cause it's a nightmare trying to get a atv back in on them and I usually just drag them out so I don't leave a "atv trail" for someone to follow.